Tens of thousands of Palestinians return to northern Gaza as Israel withdraws troops
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza following the Israeli military’s announcement of a ceasefire, which mediators hope will bring an end to the two-year conflict.
Israel agreed to a ceasefire deal with Hamas on Friday morning, which the military confirmed took effect a few hours later.
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency said around 200,000 people have now returned to northern Gaza since the ceasefire was announced.
As part of the agreement, Israeli troops pulled back to new agreed positions on Friday, while Hamas is expected to release the 20 surviving and 28 deceased Israeli hostages on Monday.
Once all the hostages are released, Israel will free 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Gazans detained after the October 7 attacks.
US President Donald Trump has said he will visit Israel on Monday and give a speech at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
He will then travel to Egypt, where he plans to hold a summit of world leaders on Gaza. Guarantors of the Gaza deal will take part in a signing ceremony, which could take place on Monday or Tuesday.
The city of Sharm el-Sheikh, where talks over the deal occurred, has been mentioned a possible location but that hasn’t been officially confirmed.
Sky News understands that the countries attending the summit in Egypt include the US, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Turkey, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, India, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Hamas ‘ready to leave’ Gaza government but Tony Blair not welcome
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official told Sky News that while the group is open to allowing a Palestinian authority to govern Gaza after the war, they intend to maintain a presence “on the ground”.
Dr Basem Naim told Sky’s World News Presenter Yalda Hakim that without the personal interference of President Trump, the agreement would not have been possible.
‘Hamas ready to leave Gaza government’
“Therefore, yes, we thank President Trump and his personal efforts to interfere and to pressure [Benjamin] Netanyahu to bring an end to this massacre and slaughtering,” he said, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
“We believe and we hope that President Trump will continue to interfere personally and to exercise the maximum pressure on Netanyahu to fulfil the obligation.”
Hamas’s alignment with Mr Trump represents a sharp departure from their earlier stance, when they called him racist, mocked his proposals as a “recipe for chaos”, and dismissed his vision for Gaza as absurd.
However, according to a Reuters report, two Palestinian sources revealed that “one extraordinary phone call” last month played a key role in convincing Hamas to release its remaining Israeli hostages – the group’s only bargaining chip in the conflict.
Displaced Palestinians walk past destroyed buildings in Gaza City. Pic: AP
‘Extraordinary phone call’
During the call, Mr Trump put Mr Netanyahu on the phone after a meeting at the White House in September to apologise to Qatar’s prime minister for an Israeli strike on a residential complex in Doha that housed Hamas’s political leaders.
According to the two officials, Mr Trump’s response to the Qatar bombing – which did not kill the Hamas leaders it aimed to eliminate, including chief negotiator Khalil al Hayya – increased the group’s confidence that he could challenge Netanyahu and was genuinely committed to ending the war in Gaza.
Mr Trump’s handling of the Qatar bombing – which failed to kill the Hamas officials it targeted, including lead negotiator Khalil al Hayya-boosted the group’s confidence that he could stand up to Mr Netanyahu and was serious about ending the war in Gaza, two officials told Reuters.
‘Netanyahu did not want this agreement’
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Nonetheless, during the interview with Sky News, Dr Naim also said that Sir Tony Blair, who under Mr Trump’s plan would form part of an international supervisory body, will not be welcomed.
Dr Naim said Palestinians have “very bad memories” of the former British prime minister.
Following the interview, Hamas released a statement on Friday, affirming the group’s rejection of any “foreign guardianship” and emphasising that the governance of Gaza is an internal Palestinian matter.
